Calendar Entry #33: Ramadan

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

 

A hilal or slight crescent moon indicating the start of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Photograph - Roi.dogabert

 

The ninth month in the Islamic calendar is Ramadan.  It lasts between 29 and 30 days and is a month of fasting.  During daylight hours, Muslims will fast (refrain from eating or drinking) which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.  Muslims may eat before sunrise and after sunset.  A pre-dawn meal is called suhoor, while the evening meal is iftar.   There are exemptions for people who cannot fast.  Children are exempt as fasting is only a requirement after puberty.  People who are chronically sick, have a mental illness or are elderly are also exempt.  As are women who are pregnant if they believe fasting will put themselves or the baby at risk.  Additionally, menstruating women and breastfeeding women are also exempt, although they may have to make up the days later. Purity of thoughts and actions is something to be strived for, therefore activities like smoking or sex are also forbidden during daylight hours. 

 

This month is a time for self-evaluation and spiritual growth.  It is a time for patience, seen in the fasting, humility, in the charity (such as participation in food drives for the poor) that is encouraged, and spirituality, in a renewed effort to read the Qur'an.  Some Muslims try to read and recite the entire Qur'an by the end of Ramadan during special prayers called the Tarawih, held at the mosques each night of the month.  Ramadan teaches Muslims self-discipline, sacrifice and empathy for those who have less than they do.  Ramadan ends when the first crescent of the new moon is visible. 

Calendar Entry #28: Asalha Puja Day, Lailat al Bara'ah and Birthday of Horus

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.


Asalha Puja Day

Sermon in the Deer Park

This is one of the most important festivals for Theravada Buddhists.  It is a day that celebrates the anniversary of the first sermon delivered by the Buddha at Deer Park over two and a half thousand years ago. 

 

It is named for the month of Asalha in the old Indian calendar and is celebrated on the full moon of that month - the 8th lunar month. 

 

The typical activites for Asalha Puja Day may include:

• Recital of the Eight Precepts by the monks. 
• Giving of alms to the monks.
• A Sermon may be delivered by a monk who may then lead a Meditation.
• Monks lead the lit candle procession three times around the Temple while chanting in Sanskrit.

 

Asalha was also the start of the monsoon season and it is a sort of Buddhist Lent or three month 'Rains Retreat' where monks spend three months of the rainy season in permanent dwellings, in a type of intensive retreat.   As monks usually travel around spreading the Buddha's teaching, this is a time for them to stay put during the period of poor weather.  This is specifically important for those in Thailand and India where the monsoon winds and torrential rain can make travel difficult and dangerous.  It also stops wandering monks from unintentionally damaging newly planted rice crops. 

 

During these three months the monks are not allowed to spend a night away from their chosen residence, or if they must go out, they have to be back before dawn the next morning.  Although there are exceptions, such as if a monk needs to be somewhere for a longer time due to the illness of a family member or a religions work that is more than a day away.  If this happens, no more than a seven day stretch is allowed.  It comes from Buddha and has been preserved throughout the centuries.

 

Lailat al Bara'ah

Also known as Mid-Sha'ban it is In keeping with Islamic tradition this celebration began at sunset last night (14th of July).   It is the night that is known as Lailat al Bara'ah or Laylatul Bara'ah, and means the night of records, the night of assignment, the night of deliverance and the night of 'quittancy' or forgiveness of sins.  It is believed, in the Sunni tradition, that this is the night that Allah travels to the nearest heaven to forgive every deserving Muslim.  The Shias believe that this is also a celebration of the birth of their final Imam - Muhammad al-Mahdi. 

 

Muslims may spend the night in a prayer filled vigil and while some accounts state that there is a celebration with feasting, others state that the day after Lailat al Bara'ah (so that would be today this year) is a day of fasting. 

 

Birthday of Horus 

I wrote about this in the Epagomenal Days post yesterday. Click here to read it.

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Calendar Entry #23: Lailat al Miraj

We continue our journey through the Cauldrons Calendar feast/festival/holidays.

 

 

Mi'raj, Muhammad riding the buraq;
a 16th-century Persian miniature

Lailat al Miraj is a celebration that centres around children, to tell them the story of the Isra and the Mi'raj.  The Isra is when Muhammad travels from Mecca to Jerusalem with the archangel Gabriel on his winged horse, Buraq.  Once he reaches Temple Mount in Jerusalem, he prays and then gets back on Buraq for the Mi'raj.  

 

The Mi'raj is where Muhammad ascended to heaven where he met with prophets such as Moses and Abraham, and then finally with Allah.  In his exchange with Allah he was instructed to tell Muslims to pray fifty times a day.  Moses told Muhammad that Muslims would not comply that many times so urged him to seek a reduction.  Muhammad went to Allah again and the number was reduced to five times a day.  He returned to Earth to pass the spiritual knowledge he has gained to mankind.  This night is why Muslims are obligated to pray five times a day. 

 

The Night of Ascent is celebrated with colourful pennants and buntings, oil lamps, candles and other lights.  Children are brought into mosques where they hear the story and are then allowed to pray with the adults.  Prayers are followed with food and other treats.